A new legend
by Doccymad
Summary: Ten years after the fall of Galbatorix Eragon goes missing leaving behind the newly reformed Dragon Riders who are plagued with disturbing visions. To make matters worse an old enemy is moving to devour alagaesia. ExA MxN WARNING spoilers for Inheritance
1. Prologue: Echoes of disaster

**DISCLAIMER: Anything that you can recognise from the inheritance cycle isn't mine and belongs to Christopher Paolini.**

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><p><em>Eragon awoke with a start and he gasped as the pain came flooding back. He tried to heal himself but found his arms were restricted by something. Slowly he looked up and frowned as he saw his arms chained to the wall and he realised he was in some sort of cell. His frown deepened as he looked around the room trying hard to remember how he came to be in such a place. The first thing that came to mind was training the new riders on Thunderstone. Then there was the pull telling him and Saphira to go east. They had arrived at the Shadowlands and there they had found:<em>

"_The Ra'Zac," Eragon spat venomously. He should have heeded the warning given to him on Helgrind all those years ago, perhaps then he would not be in this situation now. Yet there was a nagging feeling in the pit of his stomach that told him he had forgotten something important._

_There was the sound of approaching footsteps coming from outside and the rattle of a key in the lock. A man with blood red hair and eyes entered the cell and the memories suddenly came rushing back. There was a Shade working with the Ra'Zac and he had managed to defeat Eragon and Saphira single handed. Eragon had not seen Saphira for a while and he felt a feeling he hadn't felt for a long time; fear. He knew she was alive; it was just a matter of trying to make sure she was alright._

"_So _Shadeslayer,_" The shade said contemptuously. "I trust I find you well rested and ready for another day of questioning?"_

_He tried to hide the pang of dread he felt at the Shade's question by drawing his cracked lips into a sneer and saying: "Not really, as hosts go you're pretty bad," _

_The shade grinned, showing an array of pointed teeth. "I wonder if you'll be so full of yourself once I've killed everyone close to you?"_

_Eragon glared and spat: "That isn't going to happen."_

"_Oh?" The shade questioned him with an expression of mock surprise. "And why's that then?"_

"_Because when I get free I'm going to kill you." Eragon replied with a growl._

"_Is that right?"_

"_It's a promise,"_

_The shade observed him with a bored expression. "I grow weary of this meaningless talk. It matters little whether you have any important information; you and your wretched dragon are here solely for my entertainment, nothing more. When I get bored with you, you shall be disposed of, but don't worry I shall make sure you get to watch Alagaesia burn,"_

_Eragon's glare intensified as the Shade spoke such._

"_Now then; shall we continue where we left off?" The Shade raised a hand and muttered a few words._

_Agony erupted all over Eragon's body and he let out a howl of anguish. He shouldn't have left Thunderstone; he shouldn't even have left Alagaesia, and most of all he shouldn't have left those important to him. Because of his weakness he was going to rot in this cell while those he loved died…_

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><p>Arya's eyes snapped open. Feelings of surprise and anguish rippled through her. She sat up from her bed and placed a hand to her forehead. She had been sweating. As she struggled to gain control of her senses she felt a familiar mind touch hers. <em>Firnen?<em>

The green dragon pressed an eye up against her window. _Are you alright little one?_

Arya sighed. _I think so; I just had dream, or perhaps a nightmare._

_I doubt it was a dream, little one, for I had it as well even though I was perfectly awake._

Arya's whipped her head up. _Then it must be a vision of some kind, but then that would mean…_

_That it has happened, is happening, or will happen. I know._

Arya felt Firnen's worry across their bond and sighed. She headed out of the hut that had once belonged to Oromis and sat down with her back against her dragon.

It had been ten years since the defeat of Galbatorix. Ten years since she had been elected queen. Ten years since she had been parted from the one person who she had ever trusted with her true name, well apart from Firnen that is. She often wondered whether she had made the right choice by declining Eragon's offer of accompanying him as he rebuilt both the Riders and the race of dragons. She was after all happy when he was around, something that she hadn't felt since that day she had turned her back on him.

_I miss him,_ she said to Firnen. _I miss them both._

_As do I little one. Perhaps we should contact the riders and see if they can clear this up._

Arya nodded. _In the meantime I'll look through Oromis's library and see if there's anything about group visions. They can't be very common._

Firnen's head shot up. _You won't sleep any longer?_

_I can't sleep any longer Firnen, not after what we just saw._ Worry creased her features at the thought of Ra'Zac and a Shade, but not nearly as much as the idea of Eragon in pain.

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><p>In the very northern tip of the Spine, far away from the boundaries of Alagaesia, lay a small fortress carved in the heart of a mountain. This was where Murtagh had spent the last ten years of his life. He had constructed it himself using magic to assist him, but also doing a large part of it by hand. He was proud of his work and now as he looked down on it he reflected on whether he would ever see it again.<p>

_Are you sure about this Murtagh? _Thorn said to his rider. _Once we leave there may be no turning back._

Murtagh frowned slightly and placed his hand on Zar'roc, which was strapped to his belt. _If our visions are to be believed then Eragon may be in danger. We have hidden for far too long._

Thorn growled in agreement. _Yes, we are Dragon and Rider, not frightened rabbits hiding from a fox._

Murtagh smiled at his partner's enthusiasm. _Excited are we?_

Thorn swivelled his head around and peeled his lips back in a dragon's equivalent to a smirk. _Oh? Are you trying to tell me that you aren't excited about seeing _her_ again?_

_We are _not_ having this conversation again._ Murtagh replied shortly, causing Thorn to laugh.

_Very well then partner, shall we be off?_

_Yes we shall. _Murtagh said as he climbed onto the back of his still laughing dragon. He threw one final glance back at his home before Thorn spread his wings and took off.

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><p>Leandros glared down at Amethea. "So what, are we just supposed to sit around while our master gets tortured to death?"<p>

Amethea in return looked thunderous, even the tips of her pointed ears had turned red. "I am merely relaying order Leandros! If you have a problem with it, go take it up with Teris! He simply says that Ebrithil wouldn't want us to go charging in after him and getting ourselves killed."

"You know as well as I do that if it were any of us in that situation then he wouldn't even hesitate to come after us. Stop agreeing with everything Teris says just because our master left him in charge," Leandros shouted in return. "Of course, should I really expect anything different? You love him so much you'd probably let him get away with murder!"

The sound of Amethea slapping him echoed around the courtyard. "You know nothing about me you pirate scum!" she shouted and without another word she turned and fled.

Nea, her dragon, glared down at the human before turning to follow.

_That could have gone better._ Dawn, Leandros's dragon, commented drily.

Leandros grunted but didn't reply as he sat down on the ground, his back against the wall.

_Well you were being rather rude to her; you have nobody to blame but yourself. I mean you should put such childish behaviour behind you; you are after all 22 years old now._

_Why is it that every time I get into an argument with her you always take her side? _Leandros grumbled glaring down at his feet.

_Two reasons. _Dawn said licking a bright orange scale that she'd gotten deer blood on earlier. _One because quite often it is your fault and two she's right you don't know anything about her._

Leandros sighed. _I hate it when you're right. All right fine, I guess I'd better go and apologise._

_Yes you had better. _Dawn mused.

_But first there's one thing I have to do._ He reached into a bush and pulled out a dark-skinned girl no older than fifteen.

"Do you make a habit of eavesdropping on your master, Amoko?" Leandros asked her, raising an eyebrow.

"I—I am sorry Ebrithil, I did not mean to overhear," Amoko stammered, a guilty expression on her face.

Leandros laughed. "Sure you didn't, well you obviously have something you want to ask so spit it out."

She looked up. "Is it true what they're saying about master Eragon? That he has been captured and that the visions we've all had are of what's being done to him?

Leandros sighed. "Yes I'm afraid that seems to be the case. From what I can gather only Dragons and their Riders are getting these visions. I want to go after him but Teris won't allow it as I'm sure you just heard."

Amoko looked down. "I hope he'll be all right."

"So do I, kid, anyway you should head back to bed, you have a long day of training tomorrow and Nag will be worrying about you,"

Amoko nodded, glad she wasn't going to be punished, and raced back to her bedroom.

Leandros watched her go a thoughtful expression on his face before he headed off to look for Amaethea. They couldn't afford to be on bad terms during the current crisis, with Eragon captured and a possible Ra'Zac swarm on the way, the Dragon riders would need to stand together or die.

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><p><strong>There you go my first ever fanfic. I just felt that the ending of inheritance was lacking somewhat and that the series needed closure. So I decided to continue the story and this is what came out for better or for worse.<strong>


	2. Chapter 1: Midnight over Thunderstone

**Thanks for the reviews they were very helpful and motivated me into updating a lot soon than I would have done otherwise.**

**Disclaimer: The inheritance cycle is property of Christopher Paolini. So as much as I wish for it that ending isn't gonna change.**

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><p>Leandros paused outside of Amethea's door with a feeling of apprehension. The young elf had been his first real friend and for someone who had spent much of his childhood on a pirate ship raiding the trading routes from Teirm to Surda, friendship had seemed like a novelty, something stupid and to be laughed at. As such he had often made mistakes when interacting with her. He had gotten more socially adept over the years but still often showed the social capacity of a rather large Fanghur with a bad case of scale rot that has just had his meal stolen by dragon and therefore can't do anything about it.<p>

Currently he was trying to convince himself that she might have gone to the dragonhold up in the mountains near where the wild dragons dwelled—they wouldn't actually let the dragon riders sleep on the same mountains as them but the fact they were willing to share was a miracle in itself. He knew that Amethea quite often went up to the hold as a means of clearing her head.

Of course this train of thought evaporated when a quiet voice from inside the room said, "I can hear you out there you know,"

Leandros almost groaned. He had completely forgotten about the heightened senses that elves possess. "May I come in?" he asked.

When she didn't reply he pushed open the door. The tirade of apologies and excuses he had planned beforehand had vanished as soon as he saw Amethea sitting on the end of the bed hugging her legs. Judging by the redness of her eyes she had been crying. It reminded Leandros of how even though she was five years older than him mentally she was still younger.

At first he had been surprised to find out that elves developed at different rates to humans but he later realised that it made sense due to the longevity of their lives. Humans are short-lived and therefore fully mature around the age of twenty, elves on the other hand essentially live forever and this means they can grow at a much slower rate. This results in most elves being mentally mature at the age of thirty.

Completely ignoring the growls from Nea who was sitting out on the balcony, Leandros propped his sword against a wall, and sitting down next to Amethea placed a hand on her shoulder he said quietly "I'm sorry. What I said was uncalled for,"

Amathea smiled softly and leaned herself against his shoulder. "I'm sorry as well, you're not a pirate,"

"Hmm well I don't know about that. I mean pirates use cutlasses right? And Aiedail is in the shape of a cutlass," He grinned and nodded over to the pale yellow sword.

Amethea tilted her head "But I thought Pirates were sailors who raided shipping routes, stole things and killed people,"

"Then in that case as a dragon rider I would make a very formidable pirate maybe I should buy a ship and put a crew together?"

"But then I would be expected to hunt you down,"

Leandros gasped and said "Oh no, I don't think I could hope to stand against such a mighty warrior!" Amethea laughed and pushed him away.

Still smiling Leandros said in a more serious tone "I wouldn't be able to do it you know," The elf looked at him questioningly. "To give up this life of freedom would be impossible for me now. I nearly did give this up once; I never told you that did I?"

Amethea said nothing but instead waited for him to continue and continue he did weaving words into memories of the past.

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><p><em>It was a warm day on Thunderstone and the trainee dragon riders had been given some free time and they were all spending it swimming with their dragons in the nearby lake being. All of them except for a twelve year old Leandros who was currently sitting in Eragon's study staring at his feet, a small light orange dragon sitting on the ground next to him and looking up at him with big eyes.<em>

_Eragon sighed as he looked down at the young apprentice rider, a worried expression on his face. "Blodhgarm tells me that you tried to escape again. It's not that I'm trying to keep you prisoner but what would you do if you managed to pass through the wards? Your dragon isn't nearly large enough to carry your weight yet. In fact she doesn't even possess a name yet does she?"_

_Leandros looked up at this. "My dragon's female?"_

_A large blue head snaked its head through the door leading out to a balcony. _Of course your dragon's female it's obvious by the way in which her- _Saphira cut off seeing the exasperated expression Eragon was giving her. _Never mind._ And rumbling with annoyance she pulled her head back out and coiled it around her body._

"_Why do you wish to leave so much Leandros?" Eragon continued as if they weren't interrupted although the corners of his mouth twitched slightly. "You seemed happy when you arrived."_

"_I thought I was free from it," Leandros muttered his eyes once again returning to his feet._

"_Free from what?" Eragon asked leaning forward in his chair._

"_My past." The boy said sadly. "I saw this as a chance to leave it all behind, to escape the life I led," _

_Eragon leant back in his chair. "And why shouldn't this be a chance to do that?"_

_Leandros gripped his knees and replied "The other riders, they don't want me here."_

"_First of all, I won't tolerate bullying here so if you want me to deal with it then all you have to do is ask." Eragon said with a frown sliding onto his face. "Secondly, why should it matter to them what happened in your past, or rather, why should you let it matter what they think?_

_Leandros looked up and said quizzically "Master?"_

_Eragon stood up "I look at you and I don't see a pirate. I see a young boy with potential, a young boy who had a dragon hatch for him, a young boy who managed to paddle a handmade raft as far out as Blodhgarm's ward, but most of all I see young boy with a keen mind that few possess capable of overcoming almost any challenge set to him,"_

"_What would you have me do master?" Leandros asked tentatively._

"_Stay here and become a dragon rider. Sure you might not have the strength or speed that the others have but you have cunning and with that you can surpass some of the greatest riders in history. So stay here and complete your training,"_

_Leandros thought for a moment before his lips split into a grin "I'll try my best master,"_

_And Eragon smiled, he smiled like he hadn't smiled since he left Alagaesia "That's all anyone can ask. Now why don't we ask Saphira to fly us down to the lake?"_

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><p>Leandros finished and looked over at Amethea and saw that she was smiling softly. "I miss them," She said.<p>

"I miss them too," He said averting his eyes to his feet. "It's one reason why I can't just sit around while they could be in danger,"

"Leandros," He looked up. "I don't know what you're intending to do but please don't do anything reckless,"

Leandros smiled and said in the ancient language. "I intend to keep myself out of trouble,"

_I notice that you didn't say you wouldn't do anything reckless._ Dawn chipped in suddenly. _You're too __**sly**__ for your own good._

_Would you have me any other way?_ Leandros retorted and he felt her amusement over their bond.

That seemed to pacify Amethea however and the two friends sat in companionable silence for a while until Leandros slowly got to his feet. "It's getting late; Dawn and I have a lot to do before the morrow. Thank you for your time,"

Amethea tucked her silver hair behind her ears and smiled. "You know I always have time for a friend,"

He returned the smile and said "Good night Amethea."

"Good night Leandros." She said as he left the room.

_So you're planning to confront Teris. _Dawn said as he headed off down the corridor.

_Yes I am_. Leandros replied. _Where are you by the way?_

_On the roof of the sword hall._

_Any reason why?_

_Not really._

_Fair enough._ Leandros said as he took a right turn.

_If you're really looking for Teris then you'll find him in the master's study._

Leandros felt a stab of annoyance that Teris would be so arrogant as to use Eragon's study but he turned around all the same. _I wonder if Master gave him permission to use it. _

_Probably not._

Leandros grunted but didn't continue as he reached the study door. He reached a hand out when he heard someone calling his name. He turned to see a tall bulky figure walking towards him. He was an urgal and with arms like tree trunks, a height well over six foot and long curled horns, he was a prime specimen of the species. He also held the honour of being the first urgal rider after Eragon had altered the pact to include dwarves and urgals. His rider sword was a brown coloured claymore strapped to his back.

"Zhog," Leandros said as the urgal reached him and the clasped forearms. "I see you've made it back in one piece. How did the mission go?"

Zhog made the characteristic ruk-ruk sound that was the urgal form of laughter and replied in his deep guttural tones. "It was some extremist human who enjoyed hunting my kind and taking our horns as trophies. It seems that not all of your kind approves of the peace,"

Leandros shook his head sadly. "Well you know what they say about old dogs,"

Zhog looked puzzled "No actually. What do they say about old dogs?"

The human smiled "Doesn't matter, just some silly saying." He suddenly grew sombre. "I take it you've had the vision as well?"

The urgal glowered. "Yes I have. I was just about to ask Teris what is being done to rescue them,"

Leandros sighed "From the sounds of it not much. I was just about to confront Teris about it, would you like to join me?"

Zhog nodded his affirmative and Leandros pushed the door open. The study was spacious with few bookshelves lining the walls containing the books that Eragon kept privately. At the far end of the room was the desk and behind that were the doors leading out onto the balcony where Leandros could see Teris's white dragon, Svell'Hamr, sleeping. Teris himself was pouring over some papers on the desk not even bothering to look up when they entered.

Leandros cleared his throat and said: "Teris I-"

"I know what you're going to say Leandros and I won't let you." Teris finally looked up. "I can understand wanting to rescue him but if the Ra'Zac really are going to invade Alagaesia then I need all of the riders here and ready for battle,"

Leandros clenched his fists and glared. "First of all you are not our leader, Eragon is, and he's also the only rider besides queen Arya who's had any experience with Ra'Zac and Shades," He started advancing toward the desk. "Secondly if you allow him to die then I will make sure you regret it,"

The eleventh rider stood up, fury plastered over his features, his hand over the handle of his sword. "Are you threatening me human?" he said in a quiet voice.

"Nope that was a warning,"

Zhog decided to step in at this point. "Teris we owe Firesword everything and if it were us in his position he wouldn't hesitate to help us."

Teris seemed to soften slightly but his face remained hard as he said: "No Zhog I can't allow it. Our Ebrithil left me in charge of safe-guarding the order. In fact, until we can sort this out no rider is allowed to leave the island, and I've cast a ward against scrying around the island,"

"What?" Leandros cried "That's insane! How are we supposed to warn Alagaesia of what's coming?"

Teris sat down "It's probably better that, until we are totally sure of what's going on, we don't get into contact with Alagaesia."

Leandros glared furiously and said "You haven't heard the last of this," Before storming out of the room with Zhog in his wake.

"For an elf he is incredibly close minded," Zhog commented. "And you're plotting something," he added.

Leandros smiled slightly. "No I'm not,"

"If you were all out of ideas you would have argued further," Zhog reasoned. "And you have that little smile on your face when you're plotting."

"I'm telling you I'm not plotting anything. Anyway it's late and I need some sleep as I have a big day tomorrow," Leandros turned and walked down the hallway.

Dawn had evidently been observing what had just transpired and said: _And pray tell what do you have planned tomorrow?_

_We're going to speak with the elders._

_You're plotting aren't you?_

_Yep._

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><p><strong>Quick note about the new riders. Originally they were only going to be minor characters but as I finished writing the prologue I realised that I'd need to write from their perspective else the story wouldn't really kick off properly. So I chose Leandros because he's human and therefore easier to relate to as a character, he has his flaws but he's quite interesting for it he won't be playing a massive role in the story so I'll probably only write from his perspective early on. Amethea came about as my attempt at making a young elf as most of the elves we have seen so far have beem old with the exceptions of vanir who was a douche and those twins who were too young and probably resembled something out of a steven king novel. We don't have a lot to go on about what young elves after childhood are like except for a few hints from Arya about what it was like for her when she left home when she was about thirty. So I figured that their twenties would be quite reminiscent of human teenage years due to Elves not aging. It's a wild jump but I made it anyway.<strong>

**Quick question: would you rather the next chapter be from the perspective of Arya, Murtagh or Leandros?  
><strong>


	3. Chapter 2: The queen and the witch

**Inheritance cycle belongs to Christopher Paolini**. **Probably because the last attempt to steal it failed... Great job guys.**

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><p>Arya closed another book and sighed. The only relevant material she had found was on Ra'Zac behaviour. In particular the way, in which they attack a city, devour half the population, and feed the rest to their young. While horrific, it didn't explain why she and Firnen were having visions of Eragon. Nor did it explain why a shade would be working with the Ra'Zac.<p>

She shuddered at the memories thinking of the shade had brought up. She had never really had the chance to come to terms with her time at Gil'ead, the war had kept her too busy, and then the elves had elected her as their queen. Sometimes when she closed her eyes she almost felt as though she were back there.

She shook her head and stood up to get another book. There was no point dwelling on the past.

_You're working yourself too hard._ Firnen rumbled. _Your duties as queen and as dragon rider have left you exhausted._

_Would you have me abandon my people then? _Arya snapped back, not in the mood for this discussion again.

_Would you rather abandon me then?_

_Of course not!_

_Well with me around you are a dragon rider and that will always conflict with being queen. The reason why there have never been any rider monarchs is because the two roles conflict with each other. Riders need to stay out of politics in order to fulfil their duties. Eragon and Saphira understood this perfectly which is partially why they left._

_Firnen; I am __**not**__ going to abandon you or my people so please just drop it!_

_Fine. _Firnen sensed her anger and decided to drop the topic for now. _What are you looking for anyway?_

_Answers._ Arya replied shortly.

She often wondered herself whether or not she had made the right decision in declining Eragon's offer to go with him. She wondered if he had found peace on the island the new riders had called Thunderstone.

She found the new riders pleasant enough, even if her people often stared at the urgal and dwarf riders. Clearly some of the elven race clung to old prejudices and were highly critical of Eragon's decision to extend the rider pact.

They often came to visit her after they had completed whatever mission they had been sent on; whether it was to pay their respects to the elven queen, a fellow rider, or simply to see the place their master was trained. She always welcomed them and she always asked after Eragon and Saphira and they always stated that they were "in good health." Apart from that human rider, Leandros, he always gave a small smirk and went into detail about how lonely they seemed. Clearly he was someone who was too observant for his own good.

She pushed her thoughts aside and once again began to scan over the titles of the books on the shelves. Oromis had somehow acquired a number of volumes from the great library of the dragon riders. An impressive feat, considering that much of it had been incinerated in the battle on Vroengard, or later recovered by Galbatorix. A lot of what Galbatorix had stolen had yet to be recovered. In short, Arya had very little to go on. She had to go to another source and the only one nearby that might be of any of use was-

_Firnen? _Arya stepped outside.

_Yes Arya? _The gigantic green dragon swivelled his head around.

_We're going to have to pay __**her**__ a visit._

After that Arya jumped onto Firnen's back and they flew deep into Du Weldenvarden, far away from Ellesmera and the Crags of Tel'naeir.

_I'm surprised you want to go and see her. I'd always thought you found her difficult to deal with._ Firnen rumbled.

_It's not that, it's just that you can never really be sure whether to trust what she says. She's an ally and maybe even a friend, but considering that she has never shown her true power you can never really be sure what she'll do next. _

Firnen chuckled. _I find her quite pleasant myself._

_So do I, but that doesn't remove the need for caution._

They came upon a large clearing where there was a twisted looking cabin that appeared to have been grown out of plants. Unlike the elven method, however, this had a much more wild appearance to it.

_Yes, this is her place all right._

Firnen circled for a while before landing in the center of the clearing. Arya slid off of his back and easily unstrapped the saddle from him so he wouldn't feel restricted. Placing it on the ground she approached the cabin. As she grew closer she saw the woman she had come here to say:

"May the stars watch over you, Angela," Arya said inclining her head.

Angela, however, refused to look up from her knitting. "I find that a pointlessly long-winded way of greeting someone, so you'll have to forgive me for saying only; good day, Arya," She looked up briefly and flashed a sharp toothed smile. "Now why have you come to visit me?"

Arya tilted her head and a ghost of a smile flittered across her face. "Still hiding from the world then I see?"

Angela frowned. "I'm not hiding, I just don't want to be found, there's a distinct difference,"

_Is there a difference?_ Firnen asked.

_Not really, but I've learnt that if you don't want to spend days having a conversation it's best not to contradict the wise-woman._ Arya replied referring to Angela with the title that the elves had given her.

"It was easier for me to move about the place when Galbatorix sat on the throne," Angela continued, her tone becoming slightly angry. "Now Nasuada is queen and she has those blasted night hawks running about the place and keeping tabs on spell casters like we're criminals. They're too arrogant if you ask me, just because they were formed to fill the gap left by the riders, they seem to think that gives them equal status to them. A few of them have even tried to arrest the two new human riders for using magic,"

Arya raised her eyebrows. "Really? What happened?"

"Well the one of noble birth talked her way out of it while the pirate one punched them. It's nice when things are kept simple,"

"I keep hearing more and more stories about incidents like this," Arya said with her brow furrowed. "I would have thought that Nasuada would have done more to stop it, but it seems she has yet to do so."

"She's a monarch born out of conflict. The things she saw and did during the war may have shifted her view of things. Not to mention she was captured by Galbatorix, who knows what poisonous ideas he implanted into her head,"

Solembum came out of the cabin in his cat form and watched the exchange curiously as Arya continued. "Then maybe I should go and speak with her,"

Angela tilted her head. "You could, but the court may see that as an attempt by the elves at interfering with their politics. After all while you may be a dragon rider you are also the queen of the elves. Also; people don't see the riders as they were seen in the old days. All races, not just the humans, view them as upstarts trying to regain old glory. No; I think Eragon is the only one who could get through to her at the moment."

Arya suddenly remembered why she was here. "It was Eragon I came to speak to you about actually,"

"Oh?" Angel said raising an eyebrow. "Surely you aren't coming to me looking for relationship advice?"

"What? No!" Arya spluttered.

"Are you sure? Because I can make a very good love potion, not that it would be needed but still,"

Arya's cheeks went slightly pink, much to the amusement of Firnen who began to make the deep rumbling choking sound that was the dragon equivalent to laughter. "Look that has nothing to do with this! We think Eragon may be in trouble and I want your help,"

Angela finally put aside her knitting, her brow knit together in a look grave interest. "What do you mean by trouble?"

Arya went into detail about the vision she and Firnen shared, and when she'd finished Angela looked positively alarmed. "Ra'Zac and a Shade?"

"Yes, but what's more, Firnen and I had the same vision at the exact same time."

"Interesting," Angela said slowly. "It would seem that the drop spindle of fate never stopped turning,"

"What?"

"Doesn't matter," Angela stood up "Follow me inside,"

Arya did so and was surprised by how much bigger it was on the inside. The first room was at least twice the size of what the cabin should be. "This way," Angela said and she led her into a room that was cluttered with objects that humans used for fortune telling. Angela walked to a table and picked up a deck of cards.

Shuffling them she said: "Normally I would use dragon bones for telling the future but for some reason I have been unable to get anything clear from them. These cards aren't as accurate but they do at least give a hint of what is to come," She held them out to Arya with the pictures facing the floor. "Take one,"

Arya shot a disbelieving look but reached out to take one. Angela bent forward to see what it was and she sighed. "The Tower, that's all I've been getting for a while now, no matter how well I shuffle the deck,"

"What does it mean?" Arya asked still not sure on this very obscure form of fortune telling.

"It means something bad is coming, which fits in with what you've been saying does it not?" Angela said to which Arya nodded. "Okay then, I'll help you out as this is likely to affect me too. Besides you know me, always jumping into things feet first."

"Shouldn't it be head first?"

"Jumping into things head first is just silly. What if you jumped into a wall?"

* * *

><p><strong>There you go two of my favourite characters from the series in one chapter, well three if you include a brief reference to Solembum. Firstly I would like to apologise for giving you the option of a Murtagh chapter I had completely forgotten that he is still travelling over mountains right now and a chapter from his point of view would be rather difficult. Rest assured I there will be several chapters from his point of view after the next chapter. Secondly I hope this chapter is ok despite it being shorter than I'd like. It mostly serves the purpose of giving a hint about what's happened in Alagaesia since Eragon and Saphira left and while things seem calm there's a lot of unrest brewing...<strong>

**Virtual cookie is in it for those of you who can guess who else might be able to help Nasuada see the truth. ;)  
><strong>

**Please review it makes me write faster.**


	4. Chapter 3: Subterfuge

**If owned this series I wouldn't be on this site ****writing this.**

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><p>"<em>You're stronger than I expected. I must say I'm almost impressed," the Shade drawled, lifting up Eragon's battered head by his hair, forcing the rider to look into his eyes.<em>

_Eragon's cracked lips parted in a cruel imitation of a smile. He had been ruthlessly tortured, his body perhaps damaged beyond recognition but his spirit had refused to break._

_ "We Dragon Riders are tough."_

_The Shade sneered. "Oh, I know. Your dragon is being particularly troublesome," he reached into a pouch and pulled out a handful of bright blue scales. He tilted his hand and the scales clattered to the floor._

_A dangerous look crossed Eragon's face and he would have clenched his fists had his fingers not been broken. He had felt the pain through their link of course but he had never imagined they had been doing something like that._

"_Bastard!" Eragon spat._

_The Shade tugged even harder on Eragon's hair. "This is all you're doing! If you had just told me everything I had wanted in the first place then this wouldn't have happened. Your continued refusal to cooperate has brought pain to your dragon and will soon bring pain to others," _

_Eragon narrowed his eyes. _

"_Oh, I may not have been able to break into your mind but I have at least been able to scrape a few memories from your sub-conscious. Memories of people close to you, people who will suffer when we storm Alagaesia. I wonder how many children your cousin has fathered by now. I wonder how Nasuada would feel as she watches her kingdom crash around her. As for your little Elf whore, I can think of a few things I can do with her."_

"_You son of a bitch!" Eragon spat struggling against his chains. "When I get out of here I will hunt you down and when I'm through with you not even the spirits that make up your twisted little mind will be left alive!"_

_The Shade laughed. "Is that so little __**Shadeslayer**__? I'll inform you that there is no way you can ever escape from this fortress," he pulled out an instrument that looked like a vegetable peeler. "Now shall we begin with today's treatment?" _

_The instrument was placed at the top of Eragon's arm and a second later he let out an agonised scream._

Just like before, the dragons and riders on both sides of the ocean clasped their heads and let out moans of agony as if they themselves were the ones being tortured.

Leandros was fuming. Yet another vision and still Teris refused to act. He knew that what he was planning to do could cost him his life but he also knew that if he didn't act it could cost Eragon and Saphira theirs. So he and Dawn had decided to put their plan into action but to do so they would need help.

"I can't help you," Blodhgarm said shortly.

"What? Why!" Leandros said indignantly.

"Well for a start your master left Teris in charge and he has ordered me not to let the wards down for anyone," The furry elf replied, folding his arms across his chest.

"Teris's is being a prat, come on just let the barriers down for five minutes, that's all I'm asking," Leandros practically begged. "I need you to do this, just this once. If you won't do it for me then do it for Eragon."

Blodhgarm frowned, he had no idea what the young rider was planning and he knew better than to ask. Although, he had heard the rumours about Eragon and they deeply troubled him.

"Fine I'll help you just this once."

"Thank you so much. Also, I need to take an elder with me."

"WHAT?"

It had taken Leandros another half hour to convince Blodhgarm to take one of the Eldunari. In the end he had relented on the grounds that Leandros was young and could do with a bit of extra power and experience on his journey.

The vault of souls, as Eragon had decided to name the chamber, lay in the heart of one of Thunderstone's many peaks. Inside it were over a hundred shelves upon which there were thousands of Eldunari. When he thought about it, it seemed nigh on impossible that Eragon had managed to defeat Galbatorix when he had the power of the deceased dragons from ages passed. Many of them still had yet to recover from their experiences at the hands of the deranged king.

Leandros had told Blodhgarm that he didn't know which of the elders he was going to take but he was lying. He knew exactly which one he wanted to take with him. He found him right at the end the foot long Eldunari coloured a vibrant orange. Leandros reached out with his mind tentatively.

_Why have you disturbed my slumber youngling? _Glaedr rumbled.

Leandros rubbed the back of his head; it was rather difficult talking to someone when you know they could crush your mind at any second._ I need your help it's about Eragon, Ebrithil and Saphira, Ebrithil they're-_

_In trouble, we know. It's not only you who have been having these visions youngling._

_Can you tell us why we're having them? _Dawn asked.

_Oh so you want advice now do you? _Glaedr said, sounding a little cross. _We've been waiting for someone to turn up since the first vision. If people don't come to us for advice then it renders our role as advisors obsolete, thus rendering our very existence pointless!_

Leandros winced as he felt at least a hundred different voices enter his mind and make exclamations of agreement. _Hey it's not my fault! I would have come sooner but Eragon left Teris in charge and he's gone to some extreme measures. I'm sure if I'd asked to see you then he would have banned me from seeing you._

_Extreme measures? How so? _

Leandros went into detail about the argument he'd had with Teris the previous night.

_So then you got angry and left like a petulant child? _Glaedr inquired.

Leandros spluttered. _What? No of course-_

_Yes he did. _Dawn interjected much to Leandros's indignation. _Can you tell us why these visions are occurring?_

Glaedr was quiet for a moment, as if trying to figure out where to begin. _It has happened before. The rider pact serves to link the races together, if one goes into decline then the others will follow. For riders the link is far stronger as they are bound to a dragon. Sometimes when a rider is under extreme tension their mind will reach out across the link and the other riders and their dragons as well as the wild dragons will witness visions._

_Just the wild dragons?_ Dawn inquired. _What about the other races back in Alagaesia?_

_Dragons are at the center of the pact, with the riders acting as the catalyst that binds the other races to them. _Glaedr replied. _However this is all just a theory, as I said before; there have only ever been a handful of cases before this one. The most recent was when Vrael was killed by Galbatorix. Perhaps the most relevant however was when Eragon our founder died._

_I thought he disappeared? _Leandros asked, shocked.

_He did. _Glaedr said simply._ We don't actually know if he died, but the evidence strongly suggests that he and Bid'Daum perished in a place he called the shadow lands._

_But that's where Eragon and Saphira went! _Dawn exclaimed. _Eragon called it that in the first vision._

_Exactly. Dark times are approaching we need to act fast if they are to be averted._

_That's why we came to see you master Glaedr. _Leandros said.

_How do you mean? _

_We have a plan to put into action but we need your help to do it. _

Glaedr pushed deeper into Leandros's mind and examined the plan closely. _That is incredibly reckless. But I like it. I'll accompany you on this adventure._

Leandros grinned. _Thank you Ebrithil._

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><p><strong>So sorry it took me a while to post this and sorry it's not as long as the others. I promise I'll try to upload faster in future.<strong>

**And Glaedr has made an apearance please let me know what you think of it. Not to mention another "Eragon vision" should I attempt to do one from Saphira's point of view?  
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**Next chapter should have bit of action as Leandros put's his plan into action I'll also introduce some more of the new riders.**

**Oh and please review it gives me motivation.  
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	5. Chapter 4: Confrontation

Midnight had fallen on Thunderstone. The trainee riders had long since gone and everything was quiet. All that was soon to change as events were about to be put into motion that would decide the fate of Alagaesia far across the great ocean.

Leandros turned to his companions and asked "Now are you all ready for this? As soon as I remove Glaedr from his pedestal the alarm will be triggered and although the Elf-Wardens and wild dragons have agreed to ignore it this time Teris is more than like to come flying here."

"I am prepared," Zhog intoned. He was clad in heavy iron armour and a brown cloak over his shoulders, his head was kept bare as urgals hated putting anything over their horns.

"And I as well morning-rider," Reiastr said, using Leandros's nickname with a slight grin. Reiastr was a dwarven rider who hailed from Dugrimst Vrenshrrgn. She had a love for battle which could only be matched by Zhog. She was wearing a set of steel armour complete with a helm, which bore the hallmarks of being crafted by dwarven smiths, and a grey cloak.

Leandros smiled back. For his part he wore a vest of chainmail and a set of leather armour, as well as a hooded cloak of dark orange on his back. "Wait here while I get Glaedr," he said. "And it may be a good idea if you mount your dragons, we'll need to leave in a hurry." With that he turned around and headed into the vault of souls.

Taking their friend's advice, Zhog climbed onto Jurazh while Reiastr mounted Iormungand.

Leandros moved quickly between the shelves of Eldunari and quickly reached Glaedr's. He reached his mind out to brush against the ancient Dragon's. _Are you ready master?_

_I am ready Leandros. _He replied. _As soon as you remove me from my pedestal you have to be ready to run as the alarm will be triggered immediately._

_Understood. _With that Leandros reached out and lifted the Eldunari carefully, placing it into a leather sack that had been enchanted with a few wards protect it from damage. He slung the sack onto his shoulder and sprinted to the entrance. As soon as he left the cave he raced towards Dawn and placed the sack into one of her travelling bags.

He turned to his fellow riders and said "Let's go before Teris shows up."

"He's already here," Reiastr commented dryly, looking over Leandros's shoulder.

He turned and sure enough there was Svell'Hamr flying towards them with Teris on his back. The white dragon was also flying in formation with a pale pink dragon.

Leandros smirked. "And it looks like Isabella is accompanying him."

"Teris seems to be using magic to get here faster than normal," Zhog observed. "Getting away will be difficult."

Leandros thought for a moment, weighing up the options. At the current velocity they were travelling at it would be very hard to take off and build up enough speed to get away from them. That left him with one option.

"We try to talk with them first," He said after a few seconds. "Try one last time to reason with him."

"And if that doesn't work?" Reiastr asked raising an eyebrow.

"We knock 'em out," He replied simply.

"Nice and simple," Zhog said, grinning broadly. Reiastr smiling lightly.

Then, contacting Dawn mentally, he said: _You had better stay out of the fighting for now; I haven't yet completed the wards of Glaedr's bag._

Dawn bristled at the idea of sitting on the side-lines but quietly agreed.

Svell'Hamr landed with a loud thud and he and his rider looked down imperiously at them. Isabella landed shortly afterwards and sneered down at Leandros from the top of Rose.

"Really Leandros? Stealing an elder? And here I thought you couldn't sink any lower," She said contemptuously.

"Please, it's not stealing, more like liberating," Leandros said, rolling his eyes. "He agreed to accompany us."

"And I thought I made it abundantly clear that no one was to leave the island," Teris said, his eyes narrowing at the three rebellious riders, particularly Leandros.

"Technically, when you think about it our master only left you in charge of rider training," Leandros said, a smirk slipping onto his face.

"What do you mean by that exactly?" Teris said, still managing to keep his voice level.

"I mean that as far as I'm concerned you don't have authority to keep me here. Therefore I am going to disregard your orders," Leandros replied coolly.

"You dare?" Isabella exclaimed hotly.

"Yes Isabella, I do dare because right now Eragon is being tortured to death and we're sitting around being political about it. Well, we aren't sitting around any longer, we're going to do what we should've days ago and go after him."

Teris dismounted, drew his sword, and began to walk towards Leandros saying "I'm afraid I can't let you leave, if you don't come back I will have to keep you here by force."

There was a whooshing sound followed by a thud as Zhog (who had leapt off his dragon) swung his claymore at Teris, who dodged, causing the sword to hit the ground instead.

Teris put his foot on the sword, keeping it stuck in the ground, and slashed at Zhog, aiming to injure his right arm. Alas, this was blocked by Reiastr who had recently leapt down from her own dragon.

While this was happening Svell'Hamr also leapt into action, attempting to get to Dawn—who currently held Glaedr's Eldunari—but got pounced on by Iormungand, knocking him onto his side as he tried to defend himself from the bites and slashes the grey dragon was administering to him. He kicked Iormungand off and took to the air, daring the other dragon to follow him, which she did, and the two once again began to clash biting, slashing and breathing fire at each other in an aerial display of brilliance.

Isabella leapt off Rose and began to rush to aid Teris but Leandros blocked her off. Zhog and Reiastr were struggling to defeat Teris as it was, they didn't need Isabella rushing in and making things harder for them. Glaring at him, Isabella drew her rider sword, which was in the form of a pale pink rapier. She lunged and Leandros only just managed to draw Aiedail, his own sword, in time to parry. Isabella attacked with precision and speed, making it difficult for him to counter attack, but it was not his aim to win the sword fight, but rather to win the mental one. All the while their swords were clashing he was trying to fight his way into her mind, but she was focused, and it was proving difficult to find any weaknesses. He parried a blow from her while at the same time kicking her shin, hoping that she hadn't had enough time to put on armour. She hadn't. As she flinched slightly from the pain in her leg Leandros used this as an opportunity start offensively swinging his cutlass down upon her, forcing her to block, and causing their blades to lock together.

"Come on Isabella, we both know you're only here because of Teris," He said panting. "We both know he'll never look at you twice."

Isabella pushed him away and began to furiously renew her assault. "Well, we can't all be like you and your pointy eared little whore now can we?" She said angrily.

He knew he struck a low blow even if Isabella wasn't his most favourite person in the world but his words had their desired effect and her mental barriers went down for a fraction of a second. He only had enough time to evaluate her wards before she threw her barriers back up, a look of horror on her face. He passed Aiedail to his left hand and raised his right just as she tried to do the same in an attempt to counter whatever spell he tried to unleash upon her. He got there first and let out a fast stream of words in the ancient language, his palm glowed and she collapsed onto the ground unconscious.

At this Rose let out a roar of anger and began to charge at Leandros, but before Dawn could get between them, Zhog's dragon Jurazh leapt between them instead and let out a deep snarling growl. Rose was a lot smaller than Jurazh and she halted, briefly letting out a snarl of her own.

"Stop!" Leandros said. "We don't want any more conflict today. Please, your rider is just asleep, take her and go."

The dragon glared at him for a moment before gently picking up Isabella in her claws and flying off. Swivelling her head around one last time, she gave Jurazh and Dawn an expression that suggested that this wasn't over.

Leandros looked over the others and his heart sank when he saw what was occurring. Zhog and Reiastr were covered in multiple cuts and bruises and they were panting from exhaustion, Teris however remained completely unscathed. It was stark evidence that in terms of combat Teris was truly the strongest rider of their generation.

Zhog made a wild swing at Teris's head. Teris ducked and slammed his shoulder into the urgal's gut, knocking the wind out of him. Before he could act further, Reiastr struck from behind, attempting to slash his lower back, but Teris had heard the clanking of her armour and sidestepped the attack, planting a kick into the side of the dwarf's head. She fell over stunned, her helmet blocking most of the elf's strike. Zhog saw red at this and, summoning all his strength, brought his claymore down upon Teris, who only just managed to dodge the blow, and slammed the pommel of his sword into the back of his head.

The victor stepped over his fallen opponents and began to walk towards Leandros, a passive expression on his face. Jurazh growled and made to walk towards Teris, but Leandros placed a gentle hand on the dragon's leg.

"Let me handle this," He said quietly.

It wasn't that he had any particular urge to fight the elf, but he knew that if Teris were to go up against an angry dragon he would probably die, and whatever the case Jurazh backed down, and while still growling slightly, seemed content to watch Leandros fight. Leandros sheathed his cutlass and began to walk towards Teris, throwing a quick glance into the sky where the dragons were still fighting.

"Have you decided to surrender?" Teris asked, surprised.

Leandros merely smiled, raised his hand and shouted "Brisingr!" and a ball of fire shot out of his palm.

Teris quickly muttered a counter spell and the fire merely surrounded him before dissipating. When the fire had gone Teris looked around for Leandros but he had seemingly vanished.

"Hiding from me Leandros?" Teris asked his lip curling. "Too cowardly to face me in an even fight?"

When Leandros spoke his voice seemed to come from several different directions clearly the work of a spell. "I prefer to think of it as being too clever to face you in an even fight. Everyone here knows that you're the strongest rider when it comes to swordsmanship while I'm probably the weakest and in battle, it helps if you use your strengths while hindering your opponent from using there's."

Teris was turning around, trying to figure out exactly where Leandros was hiding. Suddenly, several rocks flew at him from several directions. He managed to dodge most of them, except for one which struck him in the side of the temple. The elf staggered, but managed to regain his footing, and pointed his sword at the area the rock came from, shouting "Kveykva!" A bolt of lightning shot out of his sword and struck the ground with explosive force.

"Now, now don't get cross," Leandros said, his voice again coming from multiple directions. "Just because you can't figure out where I am."

Teris drew his dagger and closed his eyes, relaxing his entire body, before then whirling around and throwing the dagger. There was a cry and Leandros reappeared on his knees with the dagger embedded in his shoulder.

"How?" Leandros asked, gritting his teeth and getting shakily back on his feet.

"You did an exemplary job at confusing my visual and auditory senses," Teris said, a look of satisfaction on his face. "But you failed to confuse my sense of smell, and humans smell disgusting, powerfully revolting."

He began to walked up to Leandros and raised a hand as if he meant to backhand Leandros before a an arrow appeared out of nowhere sliced across Teris's cheek and flew past Leandros's head. Teris clutched his cheek and turned his head to see Amethea standing there, wearing light leather armour and a purple hooded cloak with the hood up obscuring her silver hair from view. Her arms were bare except for the customary arm and finger guards needed for archery. Her bow was out but she hadn't bothered to notch another arrow.

"So I have to fight you as well don't I?" Teris said, walking towards the female elf.

"Not really," She said coolly.

"Oh? Care to tell me why?"

"The arrowhead was coated in poison."

Teris stopped in his tracks, putting a hand to his bleeding cheek, a look of shock and horror crossing his face as his vision blurred. He reached a hand out to Amethea and fell forwards unmoving. Amethea stepped past Teris and walked towards Leandros who was wearing an expression similar to the one that had just been on Teris's face.

"You do realise I didn't actually kill him right?" Amethea asked, arching an eyebrow. "I simply coated it in a sleeping draft."

Leandros's immediately shifted back to normal "Oh yes of course, I was well aware of that. That was a good shot by the way."

"No it wasn't," She glared "I only hit one of you."

He swallowed hard and was about to say something when there was a roar and Svell'Hamr, having slipped past Iormungand, dived down toward Amethea. He was quickly intercepted by a large purple dragon; Nea, Amethea's dragon. Svell'Hamr was knocked from the sky and was sent crashing into the ground. He quickly got to his feet and suddenly became aware that he was surrounded by four dragons, three of whom were quite annoyed at being kept out of the action.

Amethea sighed "Just take your idiot rider and go. He'll wake up in a couple of hours."

The white dragon glared at them all before picking up Teris in his claws and flying off, growling at the other dragons who had begun laughing at him.

"So" Leandros began "why did you tell Teris he was poisoned?"

Amethea shrugged "Thought it would be amusing… and you!" She whirled around and slapped Leandros across the face, not at her full strength of course, that would probably break his jaw but enough to leave an angry red mark. "How could you leave me behind on such an important mission?"

"I-I didn't think…" He trailed off when he saw the look of hurt on her face. "I'm sorry; I didn't want to worry you."

"Oh, and heading off to uncharted territory that is inhabited by Ra'Zac and a Shade isn't supposed to worry me!" She turned away from him.

"Then I'm sorry." He apologised, a note of genuine regret in his voice. "I should've consulted you first but I was worried you might try to stop me."

She turned back to him and her face softened when she saw the dagger still embedded in his shoulder. She gave him a questioning look and he gestured for her to continue. Gently she eased the blade out of his shoulder and quickly, but gently, placed her hand on the wound muttering "Waise Heill."

"I'm going with you." She said afterwards, quietly looking down at the ground.

"I'd be honoured to have you along." He replied with a small smile.

"I wasn't asking."

Leandros's grin widened and he was about to say something when from across the hill he heard "Well, isn't that cute?"

He twisted his head sharply and saw Zhog, Reiastr and the dragons watching their exchange. Reiastr was sitting cross legged with her head cocked to one side and Zhog was smoking a pipe. Amethea's face turned a light shade of pink and she took a step away from Leandros.

"How long have you lot been sitting there?" She asked accusingly.

"Long enough," said Zhog, exhaling a puff of smoke "Good work on Teris by the way, he's a tricky little bastard that one."

_If you younglings are done I think it would be a good idea to get going._ Glaedr's deep voice echoed in their heads.

Amethea turned to look incredulously at Leandros. "You stole an elder?"

_I prefer the word "liberated". _Glaedr grumbled, copying the pirate. _Now quick, let us be off!_

_Right, sorry Glaedr. _Leandros thought back to him as he climbed upon Dawn, the other's quickly mounting their own dragons.

Before they took off however Leandros turned to Amethea and said "Thea? Do humans really smell that bad?"

Amethea just laughed.

**(AN)**

**First of all I want to apologise for not updating for a while, I've had a lot happening the past six months but I'm back now and will be updating ASAP.  
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**Secondly this is my first attempt at writing action scenes so I'm not entirely sure if I've done it well so please go easy on me :3.  
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**Next chapter will most likely be from Arya's point of view and may or may not include another Eragon/Saphira vision we'll have to wait and see. In regards to a chapter from Murtagh's point of view I do have one planned it will probably be posted after the next one so stay tuned.  
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**In regards to the new riders, would you like me to continue to do a few chapters from their point of view here and there or would you prefer it if I focused on Alagaesia for a while?  
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